


Space

by PinkRabbitPro



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Living Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-20
Updated: 2016-03-20
Packaged: 2018-05-27 19:31:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6297223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkRabbitPro/pseuds/PinkRabbitPro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Living together requires some adjustments. Supercat fluff. Supercat established couple living together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Space

**Author's Note:**

> Still experimenting with present tense as a way of exploring thoughts and trying to fight my way through writer’s block. This started as one thing, then turned into another. No idea if it works, but since I’m still pushing myself to just write and not hide things away, so posting.

  
   
   
It’s still fairly early when Kara stumbles in, but she’s hungry and tired and frankly, grumpier than normal, owing to a troublesome feline who taught her that, while invulnerability protects her from damage, it doesn’t necessarily prevent lethally sharp claws and teeth from hurting like the proverbial sonofabitch, particularly when she has to try and gently pry the enraged owner of the weaponry in question off her arm and chest without doing any damage because as it turned out selfsame weapon-owner had no desire to be rescued from the tree, thank you very much.  
   
So much for doing little old ladies one last quick favor before retiring for the night.   
   
No such luck.  
   
So, she’s definitely more stumbly and grumpy and generally irritated than normal. The fact that she smells a distinct whiff of Chinese take-out when she enters doesn’t help any either. Carter has recently hit the teenage male age of inhaling every bit of food in sight, and Cat hasn’t quite learned to adjust her orders accordingly, so the chance of leftovers seems low at best. Given that Kara’s feeling way too tired to cook and Cat’s perfectly designed, confusingly high tech kitchen always leaves her feeling intimidated, she’s probably going to be stuck with PB&J.  
   
Wonderful.  
   
As she approaches the swinging doors to the kitchen, she’s pulled up short by the dayglo Post It note stuck right at eye level, Cat’s barely legible scrawl scratched across it in thick, black ink.   
   
 _Push Start_ , it says simply, leaving Kara faintly mystified and vaguely worried. Unexpected messages rarely come with good news in her line of work. As a result, she’s understandably cautious as she eases into the kitchen, then abruptly pulls up short.  
   
There’s a softly glowing Start button sitting smack dab in one of the broad counters that dominate two walls of the room.  
   
Still cautious, Kara steps forward, noting the Post It note stuck to the counter next to the bright red button that looks like something off a 70s game show. Just push it, it reads.   
   
Carter’s much neater printing this time.   
   
It’s then that Kara notices that the under cupboard microwave has been replaced with a newer, much larger model. A beat later she notes that a second, countertop model, also large, has been added as well.   
   
Curious now, she presses the button, grinning as both ovens come to life with a flash of light that makes two new notes visible, one on each oven face.   
  
_See_ , one reads. _Food_ , says the other.  
   
Almost instantly the rich smell of lo mein and pot stickers is wafting through the room. Meanwhile, Kara finds a tray on the kitchen table with another note, Grab your food and bring it back to our room. It sits next to a bill from the Shaanxi Palace that clocks in at almost a hundred dollars. No twenty dollar family specials from Wee Went Wong’s for Cat Grant.  
   
Kara just grins. Checking the fridge nets a couple of bottles of her favorite soda right in front. After a brief debate wherein she considers eating downstairs because eating in Cat’s bedroom always seems vaguely sacrilegious and she’s terrified of getting crumbs all over things, they get piled onto the tray. After all, Cat said she should and Kara knows her lover worries. The tray quickly fills up when the microwaves ding their readiness to serve.  
   
Grabbing her food, she moves on light feet to the bedroom she shares with Cat, a huge affair that often feels less like a home and more like a hotel where she’s overstayed her ability to pay the bill. It’s all very nice, but still a bit overwhelming at times, though she supposes they’ll figure things out.  
   
As she reaches the door, she’s unsurprised to find a new Post It note. Cat’s handwriting again, it simply reads, _New couch, far wall, eat_. The meaning becomes self explanatory as soon as she steps inside and sees the dimly lit nook that has sprung up in the far corner of the room in her absence. There’s a plush, L-shaped couch, and a low coffee table plus open book shelves and a small, dorm style refrigerator. One of Kara’s paintings, a seascape, overlooks the area.   
   
Kara’s still staring when she registers the sound of shifting sheets.  
   
"Hey," Cat murmurs as she pushes up on her elbows.  
   
"You’ve been busy while I was out," Kara observes.  
   
Cat shrugs and languidly sits up. "Money has its advantages," she admits.  
   
"You know you really didn’t have to—" Kara starts to insist only to have Cat cut her off.  
   
"This your home now," Cat points out. "It has to meet your needs as well Carter’s and mine." She nods to indicate the couch and orders, "So sit...eat."  
   
Some part of Kara wants to argue, but the look on Cat’s face warns her not to. She sits, and starts digging in. Eating feels much easier and safer at that point. "Food’s great, by the way. Thanks for ordering extra." She grins in a way she knows makes Cat tremble and is rewarded by a suggestive smile right on cue, though the blonde quickly shakes it off, and her expression turns serious once more.   
   
"That isn’t extra," Cat corrects quickly, her tone stern enough to make Kara wonder if she’s misread something until Cat adds, "I ordered too little the last time. My mistake. Hopefully that has been rectified."  
   
"Oh yeah," Kara confirms, grinning again. "The second microwave might have been overkill though."  
   
Cat shrugs. "Given the recent increase in Carter’s appetite in addition to your needs, it seemed easiest."  
   
"And the start button?" Kara questions, genuinely curious.  
   
"Carter’s idea," Cat explains, then waves it off. "He set it all up, but they seem to still work normally if you don’t ‘arm’ them." She puts extra emphasis on the word ‘arm’ and a delicate shudder slips through her. "You’ll have to ask him how that works." She rolls her eyes at Kara’s soft chuckle. "The couch, by the way, is stain proof and your favorite drinks are already in the fridge."  
   
"You thought ahead."  
   
"Mmm, I know you need to eat when you come in, and I don’t want you to feel you have to stay downstairs to do so."  
   
Kara’s a little startled to realize Cat’s aware of her fear of making a mess. "You sure?" she asks.  
   
"This is your home now," Cat points out. "It’s time you felt like it." Her head tips to one side as she considers Kara. "I want you to know that what I’ve done tonight is only the beginning...and if you want any changes or what’s been done so far doesn’t meet your needs, then you only need to tell me what you want."  
   
"Everything’s great," Kara mumbles between mouths full of food  
   
Cat sighs softly. "Kara," she begins carefully enough to make her lover’s brow rise nervously. "Why do you think I did all this without consulting you and while you weren’t home?"  
   
"You were trying to be...thoughtful?" Kara questions uncertainly.  
   
Blonde brows rise doubtfully. "How sweet that you think I would do that," Cat drawls, her tone wry. "But no." Sliding out of bed, she crosses to the couch, the seductive sway of her hips emphasized enough to make it clear she’s very aware of the way blue eyes track her every move. Watching Kara closely, she sinks into the cushions, legs folded beneath her, one arm draped along the back cushions. "I know you," she says after a beat. "If I simply told you to make whatever changes you need, you wouldn’t do anything, you’d just make do." She shakes her head. "And that won’t work," Cat adds, her tone serious, but with an odd undertone of sarcasm that worries Kara until her lover continues to explain, "It’s too tempting for me. Little voices whisper in my head that I can have everything my way and still have you as well...but you wouldn’t be happy...not long term, at least." She waves for Kara to continue eating as more words come. "If this is going to work, we both need space and respect and to have our needs met, and for that, we need a push...me as much as you." She indicates the space around them. "This is a push...a starting place...neutral ground, so we can build from here."  
   
"Okay," Kara says very softly, sort of understanding, but not quite, and a little afraid she’s let something slip in a way that’s pressured her lover into this.  
   
Cat’s answering smile is tight and she bobs her head the way she does when she’s trying to hide her nerves. "To that end, I’ve also cleared out the guest room and had your art supplies moved in there—"  
   
"You don’t have to—" Kara starts to deny, but Cat cuts her off.  
   
"You need a space of your own. That one has lovely sun exposure...and besides, it’s the room mother has used when visiting and I’m quite happy to put it to different use. Andrew is meeting you on Friday to discuss what you need in the way of modifications—"  
   
"I don’t need—"  
   
"He has instructions to put in the best art studio he can, so you might as well offer your input because it will happen," Cat says firmly, neatly forcing Kara to participate.  
   
"I..." Kara again starts to argue only to trail off as she peers at the raw determination in Cat’s expression, then notes the way her hands have tightened into white knuckled fists. This is hard for her and it’s taking everything she has to willingly do it.  
   
For a moment, Kara wonders why she’s doing it if it’s that difficult and a part of her is almost angry, old hurts and resentments over never quite belonging making her feel like the outsider once again forced on someone. A sarcastic comment sits on the tip of her tongue, not quite spoken until Cat flashes a quick look from under lowered lashes and Kara glimpses the sheer terror living there.  
   
In that moment, Kara gets it. This may be hard for Cat, but she desperately wants Kara to stay and she’s afraid of making mistakes and driving her away. Whatever her territorial streak, Kara is more important to her than it is.  
   
It’s a dance Kara knows well because it encompasses so many of her own experiences since coming to earth. Cat’s just dealing with a very different set of coping tools, and this is her way of not letting herself steamroller and take over and set up the seeds of their doom in her need to control. She’s blocking them both in and trying to break old patterns. As demented as it would seem to a lot of people, it’s one of the sweetest things anyone’s ever done for Kara.   
   
Cat, meanwhile, uses the pause to take a deep, steadying breath, then adds, "I’ve also cleared out half of my closet for your use."  
   
Cat’s giant, walk-in, custom designed, hyper-organized closet that probably has as much square footage as Kara’s previous apartment. "No," she says quickly, instinctively certain this is one step too far.  
   
"You need—" Cat begins, but her head is down and there’s a slight tremor in her shoulders. This is taking everything she has.  
"A little space," Kara admits. "But nowhere near half, and you have needs too. I’m not the only one who could get resentful...and I don’t want that anymore than you do."  
   
Cat looks up then, and there’s a look that’s somewhere between hopeful and pleading.  
   
"Maybe we could share your casuals section," Kara suggests, knowing it’s larger than any closet Kara’s ever had, nearly empty, and fairly extraneous given Cat’s recent tendency to borrow Kara’s stuff when she wants to dress casual anyway. She reaches out, tenderly petting Cat’s cheek, taking pleasure from the warmth and softness of her skin. "You’re right though," she soothes, happy to see some of the tension in Cat’s shoulders ease. It might be hard for her to surrender some of her space, but it’s made easier by winning the argument. "I do need space, and to feel it’s my home too."  
   
Shoulders that are slim to the point of delicacy sag. "I want you here," Cat says incredibly softly, her eyes downcast. "So much," she adds before Kara can respond. "But I don’t always share well." She takes a breath. "In the past...with others...I allowed them in...but not really. It was easy to end it...easy to just remove them without anything changing."   
   
She finally looks up, her expression so open Kara can hardly breathe for the intensity of emotion she sees.   
   
"I don’t want that for us." Cat reaches out, laying her hand on Kara’s chest. "I want you completely here...even if sometimes it’s a challenge to make everything work."  
   
Kara nods. "Challenging for both of us," she sighs. "I don’t always do assertive well when I’m...well...just me."  
   
She gets a smirk in return. "I rather like just you," she drawls, running a suggestive look over Kara before leaning back, her pose languid.  
   
"And on that note," Kara says, knowing what that look means. She shovels several more bits of food in, talking as she chews. "I’m gonna finish this, grab a quick shower and then maybe come back in here and see if I can’t find a way to say thank you for all my prezzies."  
   
"Mmm, can I watch?"  
   
Kara’s wolfish grin is an answer in itself. "Heck, you can join in if you like," she offers.  
   
"I like," Cat murmurs, body doing a coordinated wiggle that brings to mind her namesake on the hunt.  
   
Kara finishes her meal in record time.   
   
Cat does not.

Though as it turns out, Kara enjoys Cat’s meal even more than her own.

 

End


End file.
